


meet again

by vagarius



Category: Free!
Genre: Free! Shipping Relay, Future! AU, M/M, Non-Linear Narrative, brief mention of panic attacks, don't worry it all works out, hints of aromantic nagisa in there also, includes a coffee shop, light angst?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-03-11 09:31:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3322454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vagarius/pseuds/vagarius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>but promises are silly things, even when they come from people who don't waste their words – especially when they come from people who don't waste their words, because then you believe them, you get your hopes up, if only for a second.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>a second is much too long for that.</em>
</p>
<p>One trip, two plane rides, and four doors later, he walks into a coffee shop.</p>
<p>(Alternatively: Rei studies, Haru paints, and it all works out somehow.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	meet again

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the F!SR, and you should totally [check out the other works](http://www.freeshippingrelay.tumblr.com)

Studying abroad was a nightmare, but it was a successful nightmare – it would even be worth it, _if only he could find a job._

But any job he desires requires a license, which requires money, which requires having a job, so for now he was stuck with small corner-shops and neighborhood hangouts.

Which brings him to the coffee shop next to his old apartment complex.

On the outside, it looks as weatherworn as the bar he saw four doors down, but on the inside, it looks relatively new; the walls are void of water stains, the tiles lining the floor look clean and creamy white, the doors don't scrape or squeal when you slide them open. Only a few people dot the booth, and even less the tables, but each person looks at home and satisfied, including the baristas, so he supposes the shop can't be all that bad. The small _Help Wanted!_ sign on the counter is also a plus.

He plans on asking politely for an application, he really does, and he considers himself lucky when the barista only giggles a little when Rei helplessly gestures at the small sign. She's quick to call out the manager – Rei thinks the name sounds familiar, but he decides that it isn't, simply because he doesn't want it to be – except this isn't the manager walking out, it's a stab in the gut, it's water being pushed into his lungs, and suddenly he's _drowning_ , and he can't _breathe_ –

The shards of panic slice through his stomach as he falls to the floor, and he's pretty sure the barista is screaming, and he really wishes he applied for a job at the bar four doors down.

-

_"Rei-chan hasn't called yet!"_

_"It's been a day."_

_"But Haru-chan, Rei-chan promised that he'd call!"_

_"He's probably tired. He'll call you when he's not."_

_"Hmph. You better be right, Haru-chan!"_

-

When he wakes up to a damp cloth and blue eyes leaning over him, he nearly passes out again.

Haru hasn't changed much since high school; same black hair, same blue eyes, same neutral expression. His fingers are dainty, and his body slim – it's easy to see under the black apron and white collared shirt. His lips move, and Rei can hear what he's saying, though only faintly, so he lip reads instead;

"I never knew you got panic attacks."

Rei smiles sheepishly, and is scared to hear how weak his own voice sounds. "I didn't start getting them until about 2 years ago."

A pause.

"Oh."

-

Haru grabs an application, wordlessly hands it to Rei, and goes back to work. Rei simply orders a drink and rushes to the nearest table, pen in hand.

He can hear the barista asking _why didn't you ask for that young man's name_ , and Haru saying _I know him,_ and the barista asking _how,_ and Haru's answer of _I've seen him around,_ and the barista accusing Haru of lying because _you don't go around talking to random people you "see around," everyone here knows that, Nanase-san._

_Nanase-san,_ Rei thinks, _I wonder what I'm allowed to call him now._

-

They had all made a promise back in high school, saying that they would always stay in touch, that they would spend time together even after high school ended.

That was before the chaos of graduation, and before studying abroad; it was before changed phone numbers and futures with bared teeth and sharp claws.

That was before Haru had grabbed Rei on graduation day, and said that they would _always find each other,_ and that _oceans can fray knots but they can't break ties,_ and _I promise, Rei, I promise._

But promises are silly things, even when they come from people who don't waste their words – especially when they come from people who don't waste their words, because then you believe them, you get your hopes up, if only for a second.

A second is much too long for that.

-

Rei gets punched twice his first day on the job.

The first strike is for saying _Nanase-san,_ and Rei doesn't remember Haru being this violent, but he supposes he deserves it, not because of the name, but for all that time he put himself out of reach, and the thought of _maybe they missed me._

The second strike comes during break, when Haru calls Nagisa to bluntly state that he has _acquired a blue-haired idiot,_ and Nagisa immediately responds with _I wish I could punch Rei-chan through the phone,_ and then, well.

The second punch leaves him dazed and glad, and he doesn't think punches are supposed to make someone feel this warm.

-

He thinks he might've lost himself at university, because he'd forgotten all the beautiful things he has here in Japan.

Things like being surrounded by people who speak the same language, and pools filled with cherry blossoms, and listening to his best friend complain about math.

Things like honorifics and bento and hot tea, and hearing his name over the phone, and sitting under the kotatsu as winter gradually takes over the fall.

Things that no foreign university could ever teach him; things like delicate fingers using drink machines and how _Haru-kun_ feels on his tongue and that Haru's hair is slightly longer than he remembers, yet it still smells of chlorine. Things like Rei being tall enough for Haru to rest his head on his shoulder if he ever wanted to, and how Haru started to actually carry his phone around.

He thinks he might've lost himself at university, but he also thinks there are parts of himself still buried here in Japan.

-

_"I'm sorry."_

_"You're sorry for what, Rei-chan? Waking me up at, like, 2 in the morning?"_

_"For breaking promises."_

_"Wha- Rei-chan! What does that even mean?"_

_"... Nevermind."_

-

It's Haru who suggests sharing an apartment.

He asks after he finds out that Rei is still looking for a place to stay, saying that it would be inconvenient to buy another apartment when they can both pay half the rent, and that _it's not like you're high maintenance or messy, anyway,_ but Rei can see how lonely Haru must get. He knows, because that was how he felt at university, where it was hard to talk and even harder to listen.

Except for Haru there's no language barrier; it's the feeling of _everyone left, everyone left and I didn't know what to do, I still don't know what to do,_ and the feeling is tangible, so tangible that Rei believes he can make it shatter.  
He thinks he might have cracked the feeling, just a little, when he unlocks Haru's apartment door, and drags his suitcase through the doorway, and turns on the water for the first time, and claims the bed on the right as his.

-

The coffee shop is comfortable, for the most part.

Sometimes the small bands they let play are a little loud, or Rei can hear the dogs barking from the pet shop next door, but the overall feel remains light and airy.

Sometimes Rei is so comfortable that he finds himself subconsciously touching Haru - brushing hands and arms, linking ankles under tables, crossing over each other to reach some needed object – and it makes Rei blush when he notices, but Haru hasn't said or done anything, so it's probably okay.

-

Haru is also an independent artist, Rei finds out, and his paintings are beautiful.

Most of them are waterscapes, but others resemble the streets of Tokyo, and one is a detailed picture of Haru's old house.

The last painting Rei sees is covered with a sheet, and against his better judgment, he removes it, and is left staring.

He's not sure how long he stares before the image registers, but when it does, he starts bawling. It's a painting of Rei from high school, spread-eagle, going over the pole vault. But instead of a mat under him, it's the open ocean. The bottom right corner is signed, and under that reads _we miss you,_ and it makes Rei bawl even harder.

When Haru finds him, crying and tracing a finger over the painting, he simply says _it looked like you were flying that day._

-

He only swam once at university.

He remembers finding himself at the pool after a particularly bad panic attack, and feeling like he might puke at the sight of it. He remembers stripping anyway. He remembers diving in, and wishing for sunlight and sakura trees and home rather than the perpetual nighttime he seemed to be stuck in.

Most of all, he remembers the cold; cold water, cold air, cold body, and frozen promises that shatter like frosted glass.

-

He's not sure when _sharing an apartment_ turned into _living together_ , but it did, and it's kind of nice.

He likes seeing two toothbrushes next to the sink, and having double the utensils, and having half the closet space.

He likes the extra set of shoes in the doorway and having fewer leftovers after meals and running out of tea quicker than anticipated.

And he likes the sound of the bathtub faucet at noon and the sight of jammers hanging over chairs when the dryer breaks and the feeling of another body next to him when he accidently falls asleep under the kotatsu.

He likes the extra set of breaths and the extra heartbeat, and he likes that they belong to Haru, just like how he likes the idea of living together, of saying _their apartment_ instead of _Haru's apartment_ , he likes it a lot, likes the idea of living together a lot more than he is willing to admit.

-

He realizes it after yet another day at work full of white butterflies and blue eyes and oceans that can always fray knots but never cut ties.

He's honestly not sure if he can even call it a realization; he's known it all along, it's been there since the first year of high school, and now he just needed to accept it.

It makes him feel lighter than expected.

-

He has only ever gotten two confessions; one from some random girl in his class, and one from Nagisa, both during his third year of high school.

He rejected the girl without a second thought – Rei hadn't even known her name. With Nagisa, it was much less straightforward and much more abstract, and he didn't understand it at all.

The first thing Nagisa told him that day was _I love you,_ and the second thing he said is _and we're best friends, but I don't want to date you._

He wasn't even sure if what Nagisa said had even counted as a confession – when Rei asked, later that week, Nagisa had responded with _Of course it does, Rei-chan_ – but he remembers thinking that he might've liked Nagisa, and that if Nagisa were to actually confess, he would accept.

He remembers expecting awkwardness, and the relief he felt when none came.

He thinks he finally understands.

-

Rei didn't plan to say _I love you, and I do want to date you_ in the middle of the coffee shop, but that's how it happened.

And Haru – still ever shameless Haru – kisses him from across the table, and only smirks when Rei splutters.

He accepts the hand holding as an apology.

-

_"You seriously said that? In the middle of a coffee shop? Oh my god, Rei-chan! That's hilarious!"_

_"S-stop laughing, Nagisa-kun!"_

_"Okay, okay. I'm taking deep breaths. Deep breaths."_

_"You can't take deep breaths while talking, Nagisa-kun."_

_"Whatever, Rei-chan. You know, it's nice to hear your voice now that you're not a communicative shut-in."_

_"A communicative - What's that supposed to mean?"_

_"Hmm... Well, it means that you're happy and I'm happy and Haru-chan is happy and Mako-chan and Rin-chan are probably happy, too. And not that Haru-chan would let you, but you better not disappear again, Rei-chan!"_

_"I didn't disappear!"_

_"You did so disappear, Rei-chan! I'm only forgiving you because now you and Haru-chan are in love!"_

_"And we want to date."_

_"...Is that humor I hear, Rei-chan?"_

_"Maybe."_

_"..."_

_"I'm just really happy, is all."_

-

**Author's Note:**

> This ended up a lost less shippy than it probably should've been.


End file.
